Select Committee on Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Third Report

7  Institutional Arrangements

Regionalisation

78. The draft Fire and Rescue National Framework stresses the importance of "developing local solutions to local needs".[100] It goes on to emphasise: "This is not a national blueprint. Giving Fire and Rescue Authorities the flexibility they need to meet the specific needs of their local communities is at the heart of the Government's approach. The Framework is designed to give authorities a firm foundation on which to build local solutions."[101] However, the Government believes "there are some challenges to which local Fire and Rescue Authorities working in isolation do not have the capacity to provide an efficient and effective service."[102] These challenges include responding to terrorist incidents, training and procurement. To deal with these "specialist areas", the Government proposes Regional Fire and Rescue Authorities for those areas of England that vote in a referendum to establish elected regional assemblies. This arrangement will be similar to the system in London where the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority comprises members of, and is overseen by, the Greater London Assembly. Elected regional assemblies will not be established before 2006. In the meantime, and for those areas that will not have elected regional assemblies, Regional Fire and Rescue management boards are to be established.

79. The key argument in the White Paper for a regional approach appears to be cost efficiency:

"Such a regional approach will ensure that service improvement and also greater savings are achieved from regional fire control rooms, from reducing waste in other areas-for example, procurement, training and vehicle maintenance-as well as from rationalising management effort. The Independent Review of the Fire Service estimated that savings of the order of £42 million over the first three years could be achieved in these areas alone. In due course, as elected regional assemblies are established, there will also be savings from regionalisation in terms of reducing the bureaucratic overhead as the number of authorities is reduced. These savings would be over and above those identified by the Independent Review, and so can be recycled into increased fire-prevention measures."[103]

80. The White Paper does not explain how a regional approach would improve public safety, and help Government achieve its Service Delivery Agreement targets. Nor does it provide evidence that a regional approach would reduce bureaucratic overheads. It has indeed been suggested overheads could increase as an additional level of bureaucracy is added. The Local Government Association is sceptical:

"We are somewhat apprehensive about the concept in the White Paper of effectively regionalising the Service in those areas which first of all have elected regional assemblies simply because much of the effort is going to depend on very close local working with other local authority services, not least on the building regulation side. Again, if you are going to engage members in that and make sure there is political accountability and drive there, it seems to us that it is more likely to take place at a more local level than at a regional level. We do have reservations about that. We also have a reservation about whether it might prove a distraction in terms of delivering what has to be done in such a comprehensive way on Risk Management and all the rest of the White Paper proposals if people are looking over their shoulder wondering what the structure is going to be, where their careers are going and so on in the context of regionalisation."[104]

81. The draft Framework emphasises the importance of local solutions to local needs, and highlights that there is no national blueprint. Yet Fire Services and Authorities appear to have no choice about adopting a regional approach. The White Paper clearly states:

"We hope that such voluntary arrangements will succeed. But if these arrangements do not deliver modernisation quickly, we will use our powers to require combinations of fire authorities, in order to establish regional fire and rescue authorities. We will be strengthening these powers in the forthcoming fire legislation in order to ensure that such combinations can be achieved more quickly than at present, and to allow the Secretary of State to nominate some of the members of the regional combination authorities."[105]

Cheshire Fire Authority is part of the North West Regional Fire Assembly, and recognises that regionalism can bring significant benefits in terms of efficiency. However they are worried by the imposition of a regional approach; "we do feel that there needs to be a greater recognition of regional and sub-regional variations in culture and community, and there are some pitfalls in trying to force a one-size fits all solution."[106]

82. The evidence we received was mixed; one organisation was unable to reach a consensus of opinion among its members.[107] Some witnesses were concerned about the prospect of regionalisation;

"We made the point particularly that we welcome the changes but that we regard some of the arguments put forward for things such as regionalisation as scant in evidence and I think we would like to see more of a case made before we take such a fundamental step."[108]

"There is no desire for a regional fire authority in the south west generally but there is most certainly a need for clarity because if we are working towards that then we can work towards that regional fire authority concept."[109]

"I am worried that if we had a very heavy regional structure that we would have a heavy bureaucratic cost which would be added to the county council tax payer in my county. I cannot see it finding any efficiencies so far as the operation of our service."[110]

But others were supportive;

"The first thing to say is we understand from the White Paper that the regional assemblies are some way down the line, even if they ever occur. We do accept if they ever occur it probably makes sense to have regional Fire Services accountable to whatever that particular electorate is. The second thing is, what we are not opposed to, where it makes good professional sense, and again can be proved to enhance delivery of the service or the safety of our members, you can do things on a regional basis. There has been quite a bit of experience of that in the Service already."[111]

"I think regionalisation is driven by the search for amalgamation of control rooms and I think that is driven by other new factors, particularly the threat from terrorism and to some extent the changes in technology. It is difficult to see how control rooms can be organised in the future other than on a regional basis and, if you regionalise the controls, then almost inevitably you seem to end up regionalising the fire brigades as well. I would say, from the retained point of view, that for local retained stations, of which there are 1,200 in the UK, it probably is not going to make a vast difference whether they are controlled by a single county borough brigade, a county fire service or a region."[112]

83. We recognise that there are cost advantages to a regional approach on issues like procurement and agree that there should be a regional approach to dealing with terrorism. We are less convinced that there is sufficient evidence to support the creation of Regional Fire and Rescue Authorities.

The Audit Commission

84. The White Paper proposes that the Audit Commission take over inspection of the Fire Service from HM Fire Service Inspectorate:

"External scrutiny plays a key role in raising performance. A new inspection regime will be introduced by the Audit Commission to help support improvement and to provide the building blocks towards the introduction of CPA.[113] In future, the level of inspection for each fire authority will reflect its performance profile identified through the new CPA Framework. We will work with the Audit Commission to develop this new regime. The Fire Service Inspectorate will contribute to this process."[114]

The Audit Commission have been tasked to develop a performance assessment framework, using the lessons they have learnt from local government Comprehensive Performance Assessment:

"The Audit Commission, in our view, is the right body to carry out the assessment of the performance of fire authorities against the expectations which we will set out in our national Framework which we will be publishing very shortly. Now, that is just the same as the work the Audit Commission does in relation to local authorities and to other public bodies. It is monitoring performance and assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of those bodies." [115]

Most of the evidence we received supported the move of inspection responsibilities to the Audit Commission. Although there were some concerns about the costs of the new inspection regime.[116]

85. The draft Fire and Rescue National Framework was expected to outline Government's specific expectations of Fire Authorities, in order that the Audit Commission could begin "the process of introducing the Framework for monitoring performance."[117] We were told in evidence that the draft Framework would contain specific performance indicators which would allow monitoring of progress and improvements in the light of implementation of the White Paper's proposals:

"Chairman: […] You are saying very firmly they [the Audit Commission] are going to be the ones who measure the success of the indicators, but you are going to publish the indicators of the fire authorities' success and failure in the national framework outline, is that right?

Mr Raynsford: We will set out in the draft National Framework our expectations for the Fire and Rescue Service of the future, and we will also set out what the Government will do to deliver that. That will be for consultation. We will then be finalising our first framework document next year. The Audit Commission will be beginning the process of introducing the Framework for monitoring performance in the light of that National Framework and also in the light of existing performance indicators.

Chairman: So we are going to get some indicators in that. Can you give us any examples of those indicators you are thinking of putting into that document?

Mr Raynsford: I cannot at this stage. The Framework will be published in the very near future and it will then be available for consultation but until it is published I think it would not be appropriate for me to talk about the detail in that document."[118]

The performance indicators contained within the draft Framework vary little from those that existed before publication of the White Paper. The Audit Commission told us that it is hard to measure outputs, particularly ones related to fire prevention activity:

"It is relatively easy to measure inputs but it is harder to measure outputs. We can measure inputs through costing data and through bench marking one service against another, but it is particularly hard to measure the outputs and with the increased focus on fire prevention rather than simply firefighting it is going to be harder, arguably, in the future."[119]

However without the ability to measure outputs we will have no way of knowing if the introduction of the White Paper's changes is improving public safety.

86. We do not believe that the draft Fire and Rescue National Framework is sufficiently specific to allow the Audit Commission to set a framework for monitoring performance of Fire Authorities. Government must bring forward performance indicators to guide the Audit Commission's performance monitoring.

PAY AWARD

87. In addition to developing long term inspection mechanisms, the Audit Commission was asked to verify, in England and Wales, that some modernisation reforms had been implemented in local Fire Services. Stages 2 and 3 of the firefighters pay deal depended on successful verification by the Audit Commission:

"STAGE 1: With effect from 7th November 2002

All current pay rates and retained fees for all ranks will be increased by 4%. This increase will be paid as soon as possible after this agreement has been ratified and will be backdated.

STAGE 2: With effect from 7th November 2003

A new pay structure, linked to the IPDS role structure and producing average pay increases of 7%, will be agreed by the NJC by 31st October 2003. The NJC has already agreed a role-based structure to replace the current rank structure and also that, in developing the detail of a new pay structure, it will need to consider differentials between each role, increments within each role (including the 15-year long service increment) and protection arrangements for individuals, where they are needed. It is for this reason that the pay increase at this stage is expressed as an average of 7%.

STAGE 3: With effect from 1st July 2004

An increase of 4.2% will be applied to the new pay structure agreed at Stage 2. For qualified/competent firefighters this would produce a cumulative increase of 16% over stages 1 to 3 and an annual salary of £25,000.

The pay increases at stages 2 and 3 are subject to:

completion of all the negotiations and consultations referred to in this agreement and, where appropriate, their ratification by the Fire Service National Employers, the Fire Brigades Union and Government; and

verification by the Audit Commission (England and Wales), Accounts Commission (Scotland) and Government (Northern Ireland) that the intended benefits (including savings) of the various national changes are being delivered locally."[120]

88. The Audit Commission was unable to complete verification of local improvements by 7 November; the pay award was therefore not given.[121] Some firefighters conducted 'wildcat' strikes in protest. The Audit Commission told us; "We were not consulted about the reference to the Audit Commission in the national pay award. The first we knew about it formally was in June when the deal was concluded. Given where we started from we have done well to get to the position where we are now."[122] The Local Government Association confirmed this position:

"We believed it was properly understood by the Union and I was present at a meeting on 5 August with colleagues and other representatives of the Union in which it was made clear that the process had to be satisfactorily implemented and that it would be unlikely - given the late starting date of all this - that by 7 November the Audit Commission would be in a position to verify anything. Indeed the deal specifically referred to a figure of seven per cent being payable from - not on - 7 November. That was followed up by a joint circular, signed by the joint secretaries - that is the Union General Secretary and Mr Nolda representing the Employers - on 18 September, again making it very clear that the verification was a pre-requisite, that it would be unlikely to be available by November; that, as often has been the case in the past, there would be an element of backdating as from the date when, in this case, the verification actually occurred."[123]

89. We questioned the Minister about the Audit Commissions role in the verification audits. He commented:

"Can I say on the Audit Commission, if I can add, the impression they have given us is not one of reticence or reluctance to take on this work. The Audit Commission have engaged very constructively with us about the ability to extend the lessons they have learnt from the CPA process for local authorities to a similar approach in relation to fire authorities. Certainly their chairman, James Strachan, has shown considerable enthusiasm for undertaking this role."[124]

90. It appears that the Chair of the Audit Commission accepted responsibility for a task which the Commission was unable to meet in the time required with the resources available. It is unlikely that any organisation could have completed the verification audits in the timeframe. This suggests a failure in planning on all sides, especially by the Government.

HM Fire Service Inspectorate

91. HM Fire Service Inspectorate "will be refocused and redirected to support the process of quality assurance and service improvement."[125] The White Paper comments "The Inspectorate currently has over 100 staff. Yet its role is ill-defined and, as the Independent Review of the Fire Service observed, the fire service tends to have been over-inspected, but not effectively enough. Therefore, we intend to reform and redirect the work of the Inspectorate so that it is a smaller and more efficient body. It will, in future, have three distinct functions:

• Professional advice to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, from a small number of advisers who will identify good practice, advise on technical issues and assist in identifying the Fire Service leaders of the future
• Support to the Audit Commission in developing the new inspection function for the fire and rescue service as part of the new Comprehensive Performance Assessment; and
• Support to the new Service Improvement Team on how to increase efficiency in fire authorities. In particular, this will include advice on, for example, ensuring greater efficiency of procurement at a regional level.[126]

92. We received some evidence questioning the future role of the Inspectorate:

"There are still questions to be asked and answered about the future role for HM Fire Service Inspectorate, which, for a long time, has struggled to find an effective role and to adapt its culture and approach to keep pace with developments in the public sector in general and the fire and rescue service in particular. LFEPA Members have a combined body of experience of performance review and inspection activity, much of which has been derived outside of the Fire Service but which could be of benefit to it. LFEPA would welcome the opportunity for a vigorous debate about what needs to happen in order to support and sustain ongoing modernisation of the service. Such a debate would need to embrace questions about the experience, competencies and diversity which the Inspectorate needs to have to successfully deliver its new role." [127]

93. The Minister defended the future role of the Inspectorate:

"There is a separate and very important role to provide the professional leadership, to develop the capability of the Service and the skills of employees in the Service and to ensure that there is expert advice available both to ministers and indeed to fire authorities on the way in which the Service develops and some of the new initiatives that Sir Graham is all the time assessing […]."[128]

94. We are sceptical about the White Paper's proposed role for HM Fire Service Inspectorate. There seems to be some duplication between organisations: the Chief and Assistant Chief Officers Association currently provide professional leadership; skills of employees are developed by the Fire Service College; expert advice to Ministers will be provided by the Business and Community Safety Forum, Practitioners Forum and Service Improvement Team; and development of the capability of the Service is governed by Government legislation and policy. Moreover, evidence we received does not suggest that Fire Authorities view the Inspectorate as a source of expert advice. We recommend Government carefully consider the case for continuing an in-house Inspectorate.

Negotiating Mechanisms

95. The National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire Brigades is responsible for negotiating the pay and conditions of service for Fire Service staff. It consists of representatives of the employers and the Fire Brigades Union. The White Paper and the Independent Review of the Fire Service were critical of this system: "It has proved unwieldy. It has struggled, through its collective bargaining procedures, to negotiate changes in conditions of service for firefighters to match changing operational demands and to ensure sufficient resource management."[129]

96. The Government agreed with the Independent Review of the Fire Service that a new negotiating body should be formed, involving representatives of the Retained Firefighters' Union, Fire Officers' Association and the Association of Principal Fire Officers, in addition to the Fire Brigades' Union. The White Paper proposes three separate negotiating bodies covering the different groups within the present grading structure:

• Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers
• Middle management; and
• Firefighters and control room staff

The composition and chair of each body will be determined by the Deputy Prime Minister. The White Paper reveals the Government's commitment to changing the current machinery; "We see no prospect of such changes being made by agreement. That is why we intend to specify who should be involved."[130]

97. The Association of Principal Fire Officers, Fire Officers' Association and the Retained Firefighters' Union welcomed these proposals;

The Association of Principal Fire Officers: "I think it is true to say that we are fortunate in one sense in that the Association has its own negotiating forum with the employers because of the fact that we are principal officers, but it is true to say that the Framework at the moment tends to push people down an adversarial approach. The limited representation of employee groups right across the spectrum means that it is one side or the other and a number of my colleagues here remain unrepresented in those forum, which is not actually very healthy for a plural approach to industrial relations." [131]

Fire Officers' Association: "The situation [lack of advocacy] has been there for a long, long time now. The middle and the middle to senior management of the Service has not had an independent voice with its employers in negotiating its own terms. That group of people, as in any other walk of life, has it own specific problems and ideals at its level in the organisation. Any part of business runs with a management structure, whether they be called supervisors, managers or whatever, and the proposals will have allowed that voice to be heard."[132]

The Retained Firefighters' Union: "Can I say that, on negotiating Framework, the reason why retained are second-class citizens, which I think nobody really disputes, is because they have had no advocacy in the past. That is intended to change under the Framework laid down in the White Paper and it will bring the situation where retained firefighters are, for the first time, going to be put on a par on conditions of service and advocacy with their whole-time colleagues. We do the same job and you cannot recognise the difference. If you go into a rural area, you will only get retained firefighters; we are not some sort of ancillary organisation, we are the Fire Service. Yet, the current pay restructuring that has just come in has brought in pay parity for retained firefighters with whole time. Why the heck have we waited for that to happen? We have been paid 60 per cent of the rate of pay of a whole-time firefighter for doing the same job. I will answer my own question. The reason it has happened is because we have had no advocacy to change that situation." [133]

98. The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association also welcomed the proposed changes.[134] However the Fire Brigades' Union is less convinced by Government's strong line:

"The White Paper proposes some fundamental changes to the current industrial relations Framework of the Service. It is not clear how the Government envisages that changing the current negotiating structure will meet any of the key objectives [as set out in para. 1.6 of the White Paper]. The Government's intention to determine the number, composition and chairing of the new negotiating bodies, and to force through changes to secure its objectives, is at odds with good industrial relations practice. The FBU believes that it is for the social partners to agree on these matters. The proposal for three separate negotiating bodies is also contrary to current pay bargaining practice where for some years now, in both public and private sectors, there has been a move to single table bargaining as a reflection of modern working practices. In fact, in 1999, following a proposal from the Employers, the FBU supported the move from multiple to single table bargaining for these very reasons."[135]

99. We welcome the changes to the negotiating Framework. The system proposed in the White Paper will enable all levels of the Fire Service to negotiate their own terms and conditions.

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100   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Draft Fire and Rescue National Framework, December 2003, p 2.1 Back

101   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Draft Fire and Rescue National Framework, December 2003, p 5 Back

102   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Draft Fire and Rescue National Framework, December 2003, p 2.2 Back

103   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003, p 4.19 Back

104   Q 312 [Sir Jeremy Beecham, Chair, Local Government Association] Back

105   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003, p 4.18 Back

106   Ev 68 [Cheshire Fire Authority] Back

107   Q 174ff [Mr Ord, President, Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association (CACFOA): Mr Doig, Vice-President, Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association (CACFOA)] Back

108   Q 138 [Mr Bonney, Secretary, Association of Principal Fire Officers' (APFO)] Back

109   Q 73 [Mr Howell, Chief Fire Officer of Cornwall Fire Brigade and Secretary of SW Forum of Fire Authorities] Back

110   Q 79 [Mr Hilton, Councillor for Gloucester Fire Authority] Back

111   Q 223 [Mr Gilchrist, General Secretary, The Fire Brigades' Union (FBU)] Back

112   Q 144 [[Mr Chadbon, National General Secretary, The Retained Firefighters' Union (RFU)] Back

113   Comprehensive Performance Assessment Back

114   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003, p 6.11 Back

115   Q 445 [Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP, Minister for Local and Regional Government, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister] Back

116   Q 59 [Mr S McGuirk, Chief Fire Officer, Cheshire Fire Service]. See also Q 342 [Mr Evans, Director of Audit Policy, Audit Commission] Back

117   Q 448 [Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP, Minister for Local and Regional Government, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister] Back

118   Q 448-9 [Mr Bennett, Chairman ODPM Select Committee: Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP, Minister for Local and Regional Government, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister]  Back

119   Q 324 [Mr Evans, Director of Audit Policy, The Audit Commission] Back

120   Fire Brigades National Employer, Fire Service Pay and Conditions Agreement, Circular Emp/22/03, May 2003, p2.1 Back

121   When verification is complete the full 7% will be backdated to 7 November 2003. In the meantime the Employers offered a 3.5% goodwill gesture, which was accepted after the Fire Brigades' Union balloted its members.  Back

122   Q 336 [Mr Evans, Director of Audit Policy, Audit Commission] Back

123   Q 284 [Sir Jeremy Beecham, Chair, Local Government Association] Back

124   Q 452 [Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP, Minister for Local and Regional Government, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister] Back

125   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003, p 5.15 Back

126   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003, p 5.15 Back

127   Ev 141-2 [The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA)] Back

128   Q 445 [Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP, Minister for Local and Regional Government, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister] Back

129   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003, p 5.3 Back

130   Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003, p 7.13 Back

131   Q 163 [Mr Bonney, Secretary, The Association of Principal Fire Officers (APFO)] Back

132   Q 163 [Mr Setterfield, General Secretary, Fire Officers' Association (FOA)]  Back

133   Q 163 [Mr Chadbon, National General Secretary, The Retained Firefighters' Union (RFU)]  Back

134   Q 191 [Mr Ord, President, Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association (CACFOA)] Back

135   Ev 92 [The Fire Brigades' Union (FBU)] Back

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Prepared 23 January 2004